Transcript The Forensic Handbook

The Forensic Handbook
How to Solve a
Murder
The Crime Specialists

If once a man indulges himself in murder, very
soon he comes to think little of robbing; and
from robbing he comes next to drinking and
Sabbath-breaking, and from that to incivility
and procrastination.
–
Thomas de Quincey “Murder considered as One of the Fine
Arts.”
The Crime
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LOCATION: Gotham City, a medium sized city in the
Midwest. Racially and income diverse city.
VICTIM: Prominent and rich criminal attorney Godfrey
Daniels, who is reputed to have been a silent partner to
many of the criminals he defended.
CRIME: MURDER
MOTIVE: ?
The Specialists

Modern police science may be said to have
three phases.
–
WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE THE THREE
PHASES?
The Phases of Police Work
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The first phase embraces the identification of
living and dead persons.
The second phase embraces the field work
carried at the scene of the crime.
The third embraces methods used in the police
laboratory to examine and analyze clues and
traces discovered in the course of the
investigation.
The Experts in Forensics
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Fingerprint Experts:
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Dactyloscopy – the study
of fingerprints.
Been around for over 100
years.
New techniques using all
sorts of surfaces.
The Experts in Forensics
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Crime Scene
Photographers: A crime
scene must be
photographed from
every angle to clearly
show every detail.
Emphasis on accurately
recording the size and
distance of objects.
The Forensic Experts
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Forensic Pathologists:
Also called medical
examiner.
Determine time and
cause of death.
Forensic Experts
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Forensic Psychologists:
May be called on to
evaluate a murder scene
to suggest possible
psychological
motivations for a crime
and develop profiles for
police.
Forensic Experts
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Forensic Serologists: Study blood groups,
blood and other bodily fluids for ID following a
crime.
Forensic Dentists and Odontologists: Study
teeth of corpses for ID purposes or make casts
of human bite marks to match the bite with the
biter.
Ballistics Experts: Study the flight path of
projectiles. Everything to do with firearms.
Forensic Experts
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Forensic Chemists:
Specialize in analyzing
such things as tiny chips
of paint to determine
color and manufacturer
as well as determining
the identity of drugs,
dyes and other
chemicals in a body.
Forensic Experts
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Forensic Geologists:
Determine such things
as where the suspect or
victim walked by
examining soil samples
taken from shoes or feet.
Forensic Experts
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Forensic Entomologists: By the study of
insects, experts an determine how long a body
has been dead by the degree of development
of the maggots growing on it.
Forensic anthropologists: By examining a
pile of bones, they can determine human
remains and tell about what the person look
like and often how they died.
Forensic Experts
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Forensic Artists: Creating the likeness of a person
based on eyewitness descriptions or can age a portrait
to illustrate changes in a person’s features over time.
Forensic Sculptors: Reconstruct using modelling clay
the appearance of a face from the structure of the skull.
Forensic Linguists: Analyze written and aural
communication to identify the speaker and their intent
and whether multiple communications are from the
same person.
The Investigation
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THE CALL: 9:32 PM, a
chilly Saturday night in
October.
Distraught voice told 911
operator, “My husband
has been killed.”
911 Operator:

Get as much information
as possible from the
person on the phone to
relay to police.
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Know what police are
walking into
Keep the caller on the
phone. WHY?
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Safety
Keep the scene from
being tampered with.
What the Police Know
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The patrol car (unit) is
dispatched to the home
of Godfrey Daniels in the
Richwood section of
town – populated by
wealthier citizens.
Arrive 7 minutes after
the call.
The First Officers
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There is indeed a corpse
lying in the middle of the
floor in the study to the
right of the front door.
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Signs of a struggle.
Man appears shot.
Hysterical woman
identifies herself as Mrs.
Daniels.
Police Procedure

Ascertain the victim is
REALLY dead.
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Victim isn’t really dead
until medical examiner
says so.
Make sure suspect is not on
the premises.
First Officer Procedures
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Secure the crime scene.
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Don’t disturb the
surroundings.
No one is allowed to use a
toilet, run water, wash or
wipe hands, use the
telephone, drink out of
glasses, or handle objects
or touch furniture at the
scene.
What the first unit found
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Mrs. Daniels is trying to
clean the study. She
says she doesn’t want
people to see a messy
house.
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WHY? Stress or guilt?
Why?
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Dr. Sam Sheppard’s case. Prime suspect in
his wife Marilyn’s murder.
Police found an unfiltered cigarette floating in a
toilet. Dr. Sam didn’t smoke and his wife only
smoked filtered cigarettes.
Before it was collected, a cop had flushed the
toilet!
PRIME way to dispose of evidence!
First Officers Duties
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Keep notes on relevant times and when crime
happened (if they can); arrivals and departures
from scene.
Note state of condition of anything that will
change when the detectives arrive.
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Lights on or off?
Windows up or down? Blinds up or down?
Smell cigarette smoke? Perfume? Gunpowder?
Visible footprints / fingerprints? Used cups/glasses
The Homicide Detectives
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Detectives that will stay
with the case from that
moment until
prosecution or their
retirement.
Decide if the death is
“suspicious”
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Means it could be suicide,
accidental death or
murder.
The Homicide Detectives
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In smaller towns, they will be the CSI officers
too.
Write the first report. Details are vital so if 20
years later, another detective can reassemble
the facts.
Secure crime scene
Determine witnesses from suspects.
Report
Statements
Scene
Evidence
Exploded Drawing
What Mrs. Daniels said:
She left house at 8:30 AM and spend the day at
her store, Cecilia’s Frocks in a large shopping
mall. Left store at 8 PM.
Had dinner with a friend and came straight home,
arriving at estimated 9:15 PM. After ten
minutes in the house, she went into her
husband’s study to speak to him and found him
dead. She immediately dialed 911.
What Mrs. Daniels said:
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Last spoke her husband over the phone at
about 3 PM. He called to say he was
expecting a client to drop in at about 8 PM.
That is why she says she ate out.
What should the police do with Mrs.
Daniels’ statement?
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What – if any – problems
do you find?
Mrs. Daniels’ statement addition
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She was reluctant to mention eating with local
businessman – William Batson.
What should police do now?
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Dispatch detective to verify story with Mr. Batson.
Ask him to come down to give fingerprints.
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ANSWER DETERMINES IF INVESTIGATION
CONTINUES ALONG THIS LINE.
Detectives also:
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Do door-to-door in the
neighborhood .
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Some neighbors reported
seing a strange man
arriving at the Daniels’
house at around 8 PM.
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Neighbor on the left is
sure it was a tall, thin
man in a trench coat and
dark cap who slunk down
the street at about 7:50.
BUT:
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Neighbor two houses down on the right saw a
stocky man with light hair and no hat in a blue
or gray suit approach the Daniels’ home a
minute or so after 8 PM.
What can the police assume?
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What are our options
about what the
witnesses say they saw?
The Medical Examiner Arrives
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Called at the same time
as the homicide squad.
Issue a death certificate
Examine the body where
it lies to estimate time
and probable cause of
death.
Take the body back to
the morgue for an
autopsy.
The Forensic Unit Arrives.
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Start by photographing
the scene before the
body is moved.
Go over area for
fingerprints. Attention to
areas the assailant was
likely to forget he/she
had touched.
Check bathroom sink
drain trap for blood.
The Forensic Unit
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Note that the top desk drawer
is pulled out and gone
through.
Other desk drawers treated
thus.
Bagged the gun and took
samles from each of the blood
stains.
Gathered hairs, fibers,
cigarette butts in an ashtray.
Found by the car another
cigarette butt.
Summary of scene:
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Mr. Daniels was lying on his back on the floor
of his study.
Appears to be a bullet hole in his chest and a
pool of congealed blood under the body in the
head and shoulder area.
Other stains of blood on the desk and the floor
near the door.
Summary of the scene
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There was also what might be a blood stain on
the inner doorknob of a second door which led
to a bathroom.
A revolver lay about a foot from the deceased’s
left leg.
Overturned wastebasket and signs of a
struggle or hasty search.
Options: Suicide or Homicide?
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Suicide?
Homicide?
Something to Ponder:
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Let talking cease. Let laughter flee. This is the
place where death delights to help the living.
–
Inscription on the wall of the office of New York
City’s chief medical examiner.
Three factors to determine time of
death:
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Rigor Mortis – rigidity comes and goes shortly
after death.
Livor Mortis: discoloration of skin caused by
the settling of red cells of blood due to gravity.
Algor Mortis: Cooling off of the body.
Rigor Mortis
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Begins two hours after
death as the body
changes from alkaline to
acid. Muscles stiffen.
Where do you think it
appears first?
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Eyelids
Muscles of the face
Jaw arms, trunk and legs.
In that order.
Rigor Mortis
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Body in full rigor is stiff
as a plank.
Reaches peak in twelve
hours and lasts 12 – 48
hours.
Releases when body
changes from acid back
to alkaline.
RARE instances
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Cadaveric Spasm: Body
in SOME cases of
instant and violent death
goes into full rigor.
Livor Mortis
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Also called post mortem
lividity – red blood cells settle
out of the serum and gather in
the lowest part of the body.
Starts in two hours and fixed
after eight.
Even if body moved – the red
markings remain.
Sure sign the body has been
moved if the corpse position
doesn’t match the lividity.
Algor Mortis
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Temperature of death..
At the moment of death
– exception – the body
temp was 98.6 degrees.
Body temperature goes
down at the rate of one
degree an hour –
depending on external
temperature, body
weight, etc.
What about Mr. Daniels?
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Using the three gauges,
forensics figure Mr.
Daniels was killed three
hours before they arrived
– give or take half an
hour.
Death was between 7:30
and 8:30.
What does that mean for
Mrs. Daniels???
NOTE:
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Forensics emphasizes
this is an ESTIMATE –
and maybe not precisely
reliable. Unknown
factors may have altered
the values of their
indicators.
BUT:
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Since there were signs of a
struggle, hair or skin from
Daniels’ assailant remained
under his fingernails.
Plastic bags were placed
around the victim’s hands and
tied at his wrists.
Body zipped up and removed.
Confessions of a Medical Examiner
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It takes about two hours to do an
uncomplicated autopsy on a person who died
of a stroke or heart attack. Bullet wounds take
longer. Mafia killings always take more time
because the number of bullet holes. We have
to check each injury to see whether it
contributed to the death.
Mr. Daniels’ on the table:
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First examine the clothes. Why?
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Check that bullet hole in chest aligns with bullet
holes in the shirt and jacket.
Give an idea of the posture at the moment he was
shot.
Contents of Mr. Daniel’s Pockets
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$55 in bills in billfold and
driver’s license, AAA
membership and VISA
card. Three receipts.
$1.29 in change in a coin
bag.
Handkerchief and comb.
Date book
In Date Book
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Notes about meetings –
but seems to be a code.
Y2 is down for 8 PM on
the date of death.
Cop Recollection
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Didn’t Mr. Daniels have a
client called Yeggs
Yancy?
Autopsy procedure.
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After the clothes are
removed and bagged for
evidence– The custom is
to start the procedure
with “Hoc es Corpus”
This is the body.
Mr. Daniels’ autopsy
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Well developed, wellnourished white male,
measuring five feet
eleven inches in height
and weighing
approximately two
hundred and ten pounds.
Pictures
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Body before being undressed and again
naked.
Picture of the toe tagged body too – WHY?
Photographer stays – in case something
interesting pops up.
Examination of the epidermis
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Seek and note all cuts, bruises, wounds,
puncture marks, scars, and any abnormalities.
Go over body with a magnifying glass seeking
needle marks in case of drugs.
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Needle punctures tend to stay on the body for 48
hours.
Mr. Daniels’ wound
The bullet hole is the entrance wound. The burn
mark says it was fired at a close range.
Nail scrapings were devoid of useful material.
Blood sample taken for typing.
Turns the body over.
Mr. Daniels’ examination.
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No exit wound.
Bullets can take strange
paths through the body –
the track closes behind
them making it hard to
find.
X-rays needed.
On to the Internals
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Standard autopsy incision is
in the shape of a Y-cut – from
each shoulder meeting at the
pit of the stomach and then
through the pelvis.
All organs are removed,
examined, weighed and
tissue samples removed for
toxicological examination.
Autopsies
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Stomach is removed and
contents examined. Any
food present can
determine when and
what the victim last ate.
More precise way to
estimate death by how
much digestion had
proceeded between
meal and death.
Autopsies
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Any fluid in the thoracic
cavity and other body
cavities is siphoned off
and saved for analysis.
Same with bladder –
best way to tell if drugs
were present in the
system.
Autopsies
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Examination of head is
last.
Face examined for
minute wounds, skull for
fractures, and orbital
area for sights of
pinpoint hemorrhages
called petechiae.
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Signs of strangulation.
Autopsies
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The skin of the head is
sliced across the top of
the scalp, and a flap
pulled down in front of
the face to allow the
skull to be sawed open
and brain removed for
examination.
Autopsies
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Once all tests are completed, internal organs
are returned and sewn into the body cavity.
Skin flap on skull is replaced.
Body put into storage.
When cause of death is determined, death
certificate issued and body is released to the
family.
Forensic test for blood
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Ultraviolet Test: Benzidine over surface and
then ultraviolet light. Illuminates blood
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BUT also illuminates fresh fruit and milk stains
VERY carcinogenic.
Luminol Test is more used today. Glows blue.
More blood – brighter the glow. BUT older blood will
shine brighter too.
Blood Type Groups
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44% - Type O
40% - Type A
12% - Type B
4% - Type AB
Examination of blood splatters and
blood from the bathroom
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Mr. Daniels was type-A blood. The second
person in the room had O blood.
Roughly 70% of people have type-O blood.
Looking at the suspects:
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Mrs. Daniels: Type AB blood.
Police look into Yegg Yancy’s background and
see he has Type O blood.
Mr. Batson has Type O blood as well.
Also uncovered in investigation:
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Mr. Batson reported six months ago the
disappearance of a .38-caliber handgun.
Yegg Yancy, working last at a local diner,
reportedly was trying to score a gun according to the dishwasher.
Lawyers get a subpoena to uncover
Daniels records:
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He DID have an appointment that night with
Yancy.
Yancy still hasn’t been found.
Putting evidence together.
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In a flower bed outside Daniels’ house, the
police had found two footprints in the watered
soil.
Traced mud trail to a block down the street
where they disappeared at a curb.
Appear to be rubber soles like on athletic
shoes.
Interviews with Yancy’s
acquaintances
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Yancy was “unhappy” with Daniels’ handling of
his case.
Yancy reportedly has a gray jacket.
Interviews with Mr. Batson
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Insists on having an attorney present if
questioned. No longer available for voluntary
questioning.
Is reported to wear darker jackets and coats.
He is also a runner.
Is this enough to get a search warrant?
What would police want to see?
Mr. Yancy is found in another part
of town.
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Claims he was approaching the house for his
appointment when he heard gunfire. He ran away.
Scared he would be blamed.
Does have a crease injury on his arm and severe
lacerations to his thumb. Says he cut himself at work
and the arm injury was from a knife fight.
Claims to have had a gray jacket, but threw it out
recently, along with some old shoes, pants and shirts.
Yegg Yancy Statement
Collaboration

A coworker does say that she saw his knife
injury a day before the murder happened.
What can the police do now?
Police investigate further into Batson. There is
no evidence that he had anything more than a
business association with Mrs. Daniels. No
history of threats or violence.
Police investigate further into Yancy. There is a
history of previous violence and history of
threats.
New Evidence from Mr. Daniels’
house
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A set of badly defined footprints traveled two
houses down to where a car had been parked.
In the mud were clear footprints of the car’s
occupant
Tire tracks from where the car parked.
Also bagged a cigarette found near where the
car parked.
More evidence
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The bullet taken from the victim’s body was a
38-caliber.
The gun at the victim’s side was a .32-caliber.
The bullet in the wall was a .32 caliber.
More evidence
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Waiter at the restaurant cannot remember the
couple.
Mrs. Daniels thought the meal was paid with a
credit card.
Mr. Batson says it was paid in cash.
The fingerprints from the house
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Two unidentified fingerprints match the
fingerprint card of Philomar Yancy.
Brought in for questioning.
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Long rap sheet
Tire tracks matched to his car
Shoes matched up too
Police question Mr. Yancy
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After 30 minutes of
questioning, Yancy
changes his original
story.
Mr. Yancy’s new story:
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He had an appointment
with Mr. Daniels.
He was mad that Daniels
was pressuring him to
burglarize another
lawyer’s residence to
look for some
“information” on another
case.
Mr. Yancy’s new story:
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He threw out a cigarette
when he left his car and
smoked another one,
standing by Daniel’s car.
He heard gunshots and
went over to look
through the window (he
knew where the office
was from previous
visits).
Mr. Yancy’s new story:
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He saw Mr. Daniels on
the ground – looking
dead.
He didn’t see anyone
else.
He ran away.
All happened in less
than a minute?
So …

Who killed Godfrey
Daniels?